Origin of goose meat

Even if the cruel practices of force fattening and live plucking are forbidden in Germany, caution is advised when eating geese: Germany’s degree of self-sufficiency in geese is just 15 percent. So more than four fifths of geese come from abroad and in many countries geese are still stuffed and live plucked. Products from France, Spain, Bulgaria and Hungary may have been produced under cruelty to animals, because forced fattening for the production of foie gras is permitted in these countries. The country of origin can be recognized by the country abbreviation of the EEC number, which is usually located near the best-before date, such as HU for Hungary.

But live plucking and force fattening are not the only problems in geese husbandry. Geese need access to water to bathe, forage and groom their feathers. However, the majority of the geese are kept intensively in a combined stall/free range husbandry, which means: large stocks, shorter fattening periods, highly concentrated feed and no access to bathing.

In Germany, comparatively species-appropriate grazing with longer and gentler fattening periods of 32 weeks is common, although almost always without access to bathing facilities. In Hungary, Poland and France, on the other hand, geese are kept intensively with short fattening periods of 16 weeks. Large groups of animals of a thousand animals and more live there in a combined stall/free range husbandry.

Conclusion: Grazing fattening with access to water for slow-growing breeds and if possible organic is the species-appropriate husbandry option.

Of course, from an animal welfare perspective, it’s best to avoid goose meat. However, if it absolutely has to be goose, recommends the organic pasture goose from regional farms. This does not mean that these farms offer optimal husbandry conditions, but consumers can at least rule out the very worst practices.